France’s Mayotte cleans up after cyclone, total death toll still unknown
CNNMamoudzou, Mayotte Reuters — Authorities in the French overseas territory of Mayotte could still confirm only 31 deaths on Wednesday from Cyclone Chido, more than four days after it swept through the Indian Ocean archipelago, causing mayhem and killing possibly thousands. Mayotte, France’s poorest overseas territory, is home to large numbers of undocumented migrants whose shanty towns were flattened by the storm, and many areas remain inaccessible, further complicating the already difficult task of calculating the scale of death and destruction. Few people could be seen on Wednesday in the usually overcrowded shanty towns where many immigrants live, the prefecture office said, while the island’s maternity ward, which usually sees one birth per hour, was operating at below normal levels. “We need to see that France will not cast Mayotte aside.” Health workers say they are bracing for a surge of disease as dead bodies lie unrecovered and people struggle to access clean drinking water.